---
title: Ascertain the means by which the planet Neptune was located in 1846. — How we know: measuring the sky · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the means by which the planet Neptune was located in 1846. Exam question 3 of lesson 28 «How we know: measuring the sky» of the space course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/e3/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Space](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/space/) / [How we know: measuring the sky](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/) / e3

# Exam question 3 · How we know: measuring the sky

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the means by which the planet Neptune was located in 1846.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, the · **What happens:** ascertain, mean, locate · **To what, where:** planet, 1846 · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 28 «How we know: measuring the sky» of the space course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:space:28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky:e3:1
# text = Ascertain the means by which the planet Neptune was located in 1846.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	obl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	planet	planet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	Neptune	Neptune	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	located	locate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	ccomp	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	1846	1846	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **locate** | past · passive |  | the planet |  | 1846 |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Observation by a passing spacecraft

```conllu
# sent_id = question:space:28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky:e3:o1:1
# text = Observation by a passing spacecraft
1	Observation	observation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	passing	passing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	spacecraft	spacecraft	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **observe** |  | a passing spacecraft |  |  |  |  |  | nom observation «act transitive»: by=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Detection of its radio emissions

```conllu
# sent_id = question:space:28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky:e3:o2:1
# text = Detection of its radio emissions
1	Detection	detection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
4	radio	radio	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	emissions	emission	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **detect** |  |  | Detection's radio emissions |  |  |  |  | nom detection «cognition transitive»: of=patient |
| 2 | **emit** |  | Detection |  |  |  |  |  | nom emission «act transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Prediction from the disturbed motion of Uranus

```conllu
# sent_id = question:space:28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky:e3:o3:1
# text = Prediction from the disturbed motion of Uranus
1	Prediction	prediction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	disturbed	disturb	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	amod	_	_
5	motion	motion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Uranus	Uranus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **disturb** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **motion** |  | Uranus |  |  |  |  |  | nom motion «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chance observation with the naked eye

```conllu
# sent_id = question:space:28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky:e3:o4:1
# text = Chance observation with the naked eye
1	Chance	chance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	observation	observation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	naked	naked	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [How we know: measuring the sky, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/e2/)
- next →: [How we know: measuring the sky, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/e4/)
- ↑ back to [How we know: measuring the sky](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/space/28-how-we-know-measuring-the-sky/)